PUPA Vamp! collection eyeshadows in number 403, 102 and 103

As I mentioned in previous post, I bought these eyeshadows at Rome airport some time ago together with PUPA’s Pupart palette number 3. I was quite pleased with the palette and I must say I’m even happier with these single ones. Let’s have a look at them. Shall we?

Price: I cannot find my receipt but I think they cost around 8€ or less. Check in your local store if you have PUPA around.

PUPA Vamp! collection eyeshadows in number 403, 102 and 103

Pigmentation: as you can see on the picture, the eyeshadows are crazy pigmented. I tried using 103 and 403 wet as well (as it is advertised on the packaging) and the pigmentation was even better (but not that much that I would wet my brushes all the time).

Texture: the eyeshadows are very buttery (403 and 103 more than 102) and blendable. They are not powdery and don’t fall off the eyes during the application.

PUPA Vamp! collection eyeshadows in number 403, 102 and 103

Longevity: with the eyeshadow primer, they last very long time, at least 9-10 hours.

Colours: I use 403 (pearly cool tone white) every single day for my inner eye corner highlight. I used to use KIKO eyeshadow number 168 (see the picture) but the PUPA eyeshadow is more pigmented and I cannot imagine my eye makeup without it.

KIKO eyeshadow n.168 and PUPA eyeshadow n. 403

KIKO eyeshadow n.168 (left) and PUPA eyeshadow n.403 (right)

102 is beautiful warm light beige that I use very often as a main lid colour (as it is the case of my eye look on the picture) and it goes well with my green eyes (it would look even better with blue eyes).

103 is mauve lilac colour that I usually use as a main lid colour when doing smokey eyes (together with dark grey and black eyeshadows).

Sin-Mushroom eyeshadow duo by Urban Decay (left), PUPA eyeshadow n.102 (right) and PUPA eyeshadow n.103 (top)

Sin eyeshadow by Urban Decay (left) and PUPA eyeshadow n.102 over n.103

I also noticed that if you apply eyeshadow number 103 and then 102 on top of it, it will look exactly the same as eyeshadow Sin by Urban Decay (which is my most favourite eyeshadow, the only one that I actually used up in Naked 1 palette).

Final verdict: I really like these eyeshadows from VAMP! collection. As said before, number 403 is a must for me to highlight my eyes and other two eyeshadows are also well used. I definitely recommend them, they are worth the try and I might go back to PUPA for some more.

PUPA Milano Pupart palette number 3

As I was waiting for my plane in Rome I decided to walk little bit around and of course to check the local duty free shop. Usually I stay away from PUPA brand as I’ve never liked their packaging (it’s always looked cheap like the makeup you would buy for 10 years old girl). This time, as there were lots of eyeshadow testers, I decided to swatch some and see what they are about. I was actually surprised how well they swatched and decided to buy 3 single eyeshadows (next post) and this palette to play with at home.

PUPA Milano Pupart palette number 3

Price: it cost 19€ at the duty free shop, I’m not sure what the regular price is as the prices are not stated at the PUPA website.

PUPA Milano Pupart palette number 3

What you get: the palette includes 9 eyeshadows of 4 different finishes (iridescent – all three lightest colours, pearly - 4th, 5th and 8th colour, satin – 2 darkest colours and matt – 3rd colour), manual on how to create 2 different looks and a flat eyeshadow brush.

Brush: it is very cheap, low quality brush that doesn’t pick up any eyeshadow at all. If I had to rely on this brush, there wouldn’t be much of an eyeshadow on my eyes. It’s going to the trash right after this review.

Colours: the whole palette is rather cool tone. It suits mainly blue and green eyes’ girls. The difference between 3 light colours is quite small at the first sight but they perfectly suit for fit with each look designed in the palette (1st colour as inner eye corner highlight for all the looks, 2nd colour for the look with pink eyeshadows, 7th colour for the look with brown eyeshadows). The only matt colour (3rd colour, light cool tone brown) is a good transition colour that you put in the crease and blend upwards before applying dark colour in the outer eye corner. 

You can create several looks with this palette: light day look (using 1st, 3rd and 9th colour), more colourful day or night look (using pinks), even the smokey eyes when going out (last three colours). You can see few of my looks I created for my work days.

Pigmentation: as you can see on the pictures, the eyeshadows are quite nicely pigmented, in case of lightest colours you have to apply little bit more or use light cream eyeshadow underneath to accentuate them.

Texture: these eyeshadows are quite buttery and blendable (not as much as some luxury eyeshadows but still very nice). They are not powdery so you don’t get any fall out (providing that you tap the excess off like with any eyeshadows).

Longevity: without an eyeshadow primer, the eyeshadows don’t stay very long (about 5 – 6 hours) but I don’t wear eye makeup without the eyeshadow primer so it is not issue for me. With eyeshadow primer, they last about 9-10 hours which is standard time.

Final verdict: the eyeshadows are nice quality, the palette is very compact and I’m glad that there is at least one matt colour. The dark colours have satin finish so they still work well to deepen up the crease. The palette lacks light matt colour but you can use concealer and face powder to simulate the same effect under the eyebrow. Overall I’m happy with the palette and if I had the chance to buy her “sister”, palette number 6 (all matt eyeshadows), I would probably go for it. Hmm, maybe I’ll stop by at PUPA store next time.

AVON Eyeshadow base SuperSHOCK in colour Light beige vs MAC Paint pot in colour Painterly

Hello ladies, I have quite exciting review today. From the first view these 2 products look the same but will the cheaper AVON perform as well as famous MAC paint pot? Let's see…

Price: MAC paint pot costs 19,50€ for 5g while AVON Eyeshadow base 2,90€ for 3g (which makes the price 4,83€ for 5g). You can buy MAC in brands' shops or online, AVON through the Avon ladies or online as well.

Colour: you can see on the picture that the colour of AVON base is little bit lighter than MAC's colour. It is also neutral compared to MAC which is rather pink undertone beige. On the eyes they look the same, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference unless you don't wear any eyeshadows over it and you examine it under daylight.

AVON Eyeshadow base SuperSHOCK in colour Light beige (left)  and MAC Paint pot in colour Painterly (right) 

Texture: AVON base is a lot creamer and less dry than MAC, also little bit easier to blend. On the other side, I noticed that I use bigger amount of AVON base compared to MAC paint pot. I've had other paint pot (Soft Ocre) for 2 years and I still have 1/3 left. I wonder how fast I use up the AVON base and theoretically how many times would I have to repurchase it during the 2 years period.

Performance:

To read more about the purpose of eyeshadow base, please go to my Back to basic: Eyeshadow primer post.

Eyeshadow pigmentation's enhancement: both products performed the same, eyeshadows (low or high quality) looked the same, had the same intensity and colour (I wore one base on one eye and other one on other eye for few weeks).

AVON Eyeshadow base SuperSHOCK in colour Light beige (left) and MAC Paint pot in colour Painterly (right)

Eyeshadows longevity: When I used higher quality eyeshadows (for ex. Urban Decay or Smashbox) both products performed the same. They lasted on me more than 10 hours, even survived the kickboxing class. Now, it is a winter season so all I use is really just the paint pot under the eyeshadows, during the summer I put better base underneath it (for ex. Urban Decay Primer potion) to ensure that the eyeshadows don't crease due to the higher temperatures. I wonder how would AVON base perform at these weather conditions.
When I used lower quality eyeshadows (for ex. L'Oreal or Pupa), the eyeshadows which had AVON base underneath them started creasing after 8 hours. They didn't crease under MAC paint pot.

Final verdict: you can't beat the price, considering the quality of AVON eyeshadow base: if you use high quality eyeshadows or you don't wear make-up more than 8 hours, the base is really comparable to MAC paint pot (at least now in winter). I will definitely use it and probably repurchase it to see if it works the same as MAC during the summer.

Yves Saint Laurent Youth Liberator Serum foundation

Hello everybody, I haven’t posted any foundation review in a while so here we go. It is a high end foundation but I promise next foundation review will be from drugstore for sure.

Price: I’m not going to lie; it is a very expensive foundation. I bought it in Sephora when they had 20% sale. The original price was 60,50€ with the discount 48,40€.

Smell and packaging: the glass bottle is beautiful luxury looking. It has a pump which is a big plus for me however you cannot unscrew it so once you cannot pump it out you are done. It doesn’t have any strong smell, it smells little bit like foundation mixed with light floral scent.

Yves Saint Laurent Youth Liberator Serum foundation

Shades: in European Sephora 6 shades are offered (poor selection), in US it is sold in department store Nordstrom with 10 shades in offer. I got B30 Beige which was the lightest in offer. It applies lighter than what it actually looks like when it’s set so definitely go to test the colours and wait for approx. 10 minutes to see if the colour oxidise on you or not.

Texture and finish: it is light cream foundation. It gives semi-matt finish. Personally I expected to be more luminous. The foundation looks very natural on the skin which means that if you have dry patches, scars, big pores, “3D” acne, it will be all visible (you will definitely need to exfoliate your skin before an application).

Application: according to the packaging, you should shake the bottle first (I recommend doing it with all the foundations in order to mix well pigment and liquid base). I applied it with the brush (for ex. Sigma F80) and with hands as well. It blends very easy, one of the easiest foundations to apply I ever tried.

Yves Saint Laurent Youth Liberator Serum foundation in colour B30 on NW20 skin (in MAC)

Coverage: it gives medium coverage. It covers small imperfection, evens out the skin tone. I didn’t try to increase the coverage as the medium coverage was enough for me. Just to remind you the foundation is not to be used to cover everything that’s what you have concealer, corrector for.

Longevity: this is the main weakness of the foundation. If you have even slightly oily skin the foundation will break off at some places and you will see lot of shine where you get oily. Even if you powder the zone in question it will still get oily and that is only after 4-5 hours of wear. If you use mattifying base under this make-up, it will last 6 hours (but that is an additional cost...).

Final verdict: I was actually quite disappointed with this foundation. It promises to smooth out the skin which is not true; everything is visible on the skin, wrinkles, big pores or scars. Also, it doesn’t last long alone at all. This foundation is basically for somebody with very good skin that doesn’t wear make-up longer than 5 hours. I think you can find lot of similar foundations in drugstore without paying 60€ (for ex. Maybelline Fit me foundation).

Sephora Classic line 24h felt eyeliner vs Maybelline Master precise liquid eyeliner

It feels like ages I reviewed some felt-tip eyeliners and when I saw these two together I knew I had to compare them.

Price: Sephora eyeliner costs 11,95€ and you can buy it only in Sephora. Maybelline eyeliner costs 6,69€ (in Slovakia, in Belgium at least twice as much) and you can buy it basically in every drugstore.

Maybelline Master precise liquid eyeliner

Applicator: both eyeliners have very similar felt-tip applicators. They are very thin and long which gives them lot of flexibility (probably more than you want). You can draw very thin line but if you like thicker eyeliner a la 60's it might be little bit difficult but still manageable. None of applicators broke during the whole period of use.

Colour: I bought both eyeliners in colour black. I feel like Maybelline eyeliner looked little bit darker than Sephora one but overall they were both well pigmented and truly black.

Sephora Classic line 24h felt eyeliner 

Consistency and longevity: the eyeliners are not very watery although still liquid. You can draw nice line without having missing colour in some places. They both lasted all day on my eyes. Sephora's pen lasted for about 1 month while Maybelline one month and half.

Final verdict: The difference between both eyeliners is very small (slight difference of colour intensity and pen's longevity) and I would repurchase both of them. The main difference for me is in the price (look for sales and deals and buy accordingly) and its availability (Sephora is not everywhere).

The Balm is on sale!

Hey girls! Attention please! The Balm is on sale in DI drugstore in Belgium. Everything is 25% off which is really good deal (it won’t get better than that, it’s Belgium). The sale lasts till November 25 so definitely go and check the Balm counter.

For those who don’t know anything about the Balm, in short, it is a great quality make-up with drugstore price tag. While the regular prices may feel little too much (although not as bad as L’Oreal) 25% discount really helps to change the mind.

I’ve already had “Nude’tude” palette, highlighter “Mary-Lou Manizer” and Instain blush in colour “Lace” for quite some time but I didn’t hesitate and bought another blush (in colour “Houndstooth”), bronzer “Bahama mama”, lip-gloss and face primer. Here is little summery why to go and buy them if you live in Belgium.

Nude'tude palette by The Balm

Nude’tude palette

Price: regular: 25€, discounted: 18,75€.

Why to buy it: you get 12 colours in matt and shimmer finish. Upper row has cooler tone colours lower row warmer tone colours. You can do different day and night looks, there are lot of options. The eyeshadows are great quality, well pigmented, easy to blend and not too powdery. The only thing I’m missing here is a cool tone medium brown as a transition-blending colour.

Nude'tude palette by The Balm

Nude'tude palette: top row eyeshadows

Nude'tude palette: bottom row eyeshadows

 Highlighter Mary-Lou Manizer

Price: I don’t remember exactly but I think it costs about 15€, with discount about 11€.

Why to buy it: it is very intensive highlighter so be careful at the application. It gives beautiful shine on the cheekbones. It can be used as highlighter for inner part of eyes as well. I wouldn’t use it for under eyebrow highlight since the shine is bit extreme. Its colour is light neutral beige that will suit many skin colours.

Bronzer Bahama Mama and highlighter Mary-Lou Manizer by The Balm

Bronzer “Bahama Mama”

Price: regular: 12,99€, discounted: 9,74€.

Why to buy it: it is medium cool tone brown which is perfect for contouring. It is very pigmented so you don’t need much. It blends nicely and looks really good on the skin (my skin shade is NW20 in MAC). If you have very light skin it may be too dark for you.

Bronzer Bahama Mama and highlighter Mary-Lou Manizer by The Balm

Instain blushes

Price: regular: 14,99€, discounted: 11,24€.

Why to buy them: the blushes are extremely pigmented so you don’t need much at all. They blend very nicely and last for very long time.

Instain blushes in colour Lace (left) and Houndstooth (right) by The Balm

Instain blushes in colour Lace (left) and Houndstooth (right) by The Balm

From left: Instain blushes in colour Lace and Houndstooth, bronzer Bahama Mama and highlighter Mary-Lou Manizer by The Balm

“The Time Balm” Primer and “Pretty smart” lip gloss

I haven’t tried them so far so I can’t give you my recommendation yet.

The lip gloss costs 13,50€ and was reduced to 10,12€. It is very pigmented so it feels little bit like liquid lipstick, I will definitely test it longer and let you know what I think.

Lip gloss in colour Hubba Hubba by The Balm

Lip gloss in colour Hubba Hubba by The Balm

The primer was always sold out when I previously looked for it and I only got it at my second trip during this sale so it must be something special. It costs 14,99€, reduced to 11,24€ which is cheaper than L’Oreal or Garnier primer. They all have similar silicone texture to smooth pores and I will test them during this winter and let you know what I think. I forgot to take a picture of it so check it on The Balm cosmetics website.

Short overview: Makeup brushes companies I recommend

As promised last week, here is a short overview of companies I recommend when buying good brushes.

Cheaper options:

• E.L.F cosmetics: brushes are very cheap but quite good, for eye brushes go for Essentials line, for face brushes take rather brushes from Studio line as they are a lot better than Essentials ones, you can buy them cheaper on www.iherb.com (code IPO591 for first buy discount if you want).
• Sedona lace: most of the brushes are, in general, very good (except EB21, the bristles are so stiff that it hurts to use it). I have 2 Sedona Lace brushes that I love (and have more than one of them). It is EB13 (for blending the eyeshadows) and FB05 (for contouring and blush).
• Lightinthebox: it is a Chinese virtual market place, they sell lot of brushes (and other things), and of course not all of them are great. So far I loved their Kabuki brushes which are comparable to Sigmax Essentials kit (review here) and I also have some individual brushes that I’m going to review soon as well.
• Real techniques brushes: created by 2 YouTube gurus (sisters), their brushes are nice as well and not very expensive (you can buy them cheaper from www.iherb.com).
• Sigma beauty: I like their eye brushes, they have great variety of them and they are good quality. On the other hand, I’m not a big fan of their face brushes as they shed hair for very long time after first use; they also change their shape after a while even if you take good care of them.
• Zoeva: I heard only good things about Zoeva brushes (German company) and I’m definitely planning to buy some to review and compare them with what I already have. My friend Beata swears by them and since she is make-up maniac like me I trust her opinion and that’s why I’m mentioning them there.

Medium price level:

• Makeup atelier: I went to the brand's make-up school last June and I got the chance to use their products all week long. Brushes are very nice just like everything else from the brand but of course since it is a brand for professional makeup artists, the price range is higher.
• MAC cosmetics: I don’t think I need to present this brand too much. I think all the cheap brands basically duplicated what MAC had to offer at their beginnings. MAC’s price level was quite high so naturally they’ve seen this gap in the market and well profited by selling affordable yet good quality MAC dupes. 
• Sephora Pro brushes: The Pro collection is really good although I think the price could be lower (it costs the same as MAC). From time to time they have 20-25% sale and that is the time to buy them.

High price level:

I haven’t bought any High price level brushes so far but I heard great things about Wayne Goss brushes (another YouTube star and makeup artist) and Hakuhodo brushes (both brands’ brushes are handmade, produced in Japan). From the brands that are available in perfumeries, I would suggest Bobby Brown brushes; other brands don’t offer such a variety and quality that I would pay high price for them.